


a lifetime love, a guarantee

by irenesides



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Engagement, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-14
Updated: 2017-11-14
Packaged: 2019-02-02 02:35:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12717918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irenesides/pseuds/irenesides
Summary: Izzy tells her loved ones the big news.





	a lifetime love, a guarantee

**Author's Note:**

> beta'd by [storytellerandstorytold](http://storytellerandstorytold.tumblr.com) through [shadowhuntersbetas](http://shadowhuntersbetas.tumblr.com)! thanks coco!!

Izzy taps her long, red nails against the table, fidgets with her straw wrapper, rolling and unrolling it over and over again. Jace and Alec were supposed to be here ten minutes ago, and in their line of work, there’s no shortage of reasons to worry. She’s also nervous about something else: the reason she made this date, actually, but she doesn’t let herself think about that.

Her phone buzzes. Jace and Alec are five minutes away, and can she order them some waffles?

They slide into the booth across from her, still clearly high on adrenaline from a fight. She can see they want to tell her, so she asks, “What happened?”

The story of Behemoth demons lasts until their food comes. Jace winks at the waitress, accepts a plate of Belgian waffles, and asks, “So, Izzy. What did you want to tell us?”

“Oh, um,” she starts, looking around nervously. Taki’s is almost deserted, and it’s not like the two nixies in the corner would care at all about her personal life... and this is all going to be front page news soon enough, anyway.

Izzy smiles. Fake it until you make it, right?

“I think I’m going to propose to Clary.”

She doesn’t expect disapproval, but Alec and Jace’s smiles make her heart swell anyway. Jace claps her on the back, and Alec says, “Congrats, Izzy, that’s great!”

“I never thought we’d get married before you and Magnus, but...” She trails off, and the smiles fade from all of their faces.

“Have you told our dear parents?”

Izzy answers him with an incredulous raise of her eyebrows.

“Sorry to be a downer,” Alec says, moodily taking a sip of water.

There’s a moment of silence between the three of them, and it never used to be so awkward. Isabelle knows it’s everyone else, not them, that’s the problem, but it’s cold comfort.

Jace clears his throat. “So, do you know how you’re going to ask her?”

He’s been so amazingly supportive through all of this; if he was offended by Clary realizing she was a lesbian after their fling, he certainly hasn’t shown it.

“Got any ideas?” she says, grinning again.

Jace rubs his hands together eagerly. “So, there’s this species of monkey...”

 

* * *

 

Izzy rolls over onto her stomach and starts to cry. Her mascara is probably going to stain the pillowcase, but it doesn’t matter.

God, Clary’s going to say no. Izzy is a mess, as exemplified by the late night crying and falling asleep with her makeup on. Her family is a mess, Shadowhunter politics are a mess. After they deal with Valentine, Clary’s never going to want to see a rune again, much less a real, live Shadowhunter....

Izzy heaves a sob, then fumbles for her phone. She scrolls through her contacts slowly, the tears blurring her vision. Her finger hovers over the call button when she reaches Simon’s name.

“Simon.”

He takes a moment to reply. “You do know it’s three in the morning, right?”

“I’m gonna propose to Clary.” It doesn’t sound like the happy news it should be.

“Really? That’s so great, Izzy, I’m so happy for you guys! You—”

“I _was_ , anyway.” She heaves a sigh, and it comes out a shaky crying breath.

“What?” Simon sounds awake now. “Did you guys break up?”

“No, I just—” Izzy wipes her eyes, smearing mascara on the back of her hand. “She’s going to say no. She doesn’t... She’s going to say no.”

“Izzy. Isabelle.” If Simon were here in person, he would have his hands on her shoulders, be staring straight into her eyes. “Clary loves you. She is in love with you. The fact that you two are gonna get married is like, I don’t know, the fact that Batman is gonna beat the Joker. Batman always beats the Joker,” he adds. “Always.”

Comic book analogies don’t make her feel much better. “Really?”

“Have you seen her sketchbook? She’s doodled _somebody_ ’s wedding a lot lately. Unless she has some other girlfriend...”

Izzy smiles into the phone. “Thank you, Simon.”

He yawns. “For what?”

She turns over her pillow before going to sleep, and no more makeup runs onto it.

 

* * *

 

Bells jingle as Izzy opens the door to Jade Wolf, and a gust of wind comes in with her. She wipes her feet on the mat and walks over to the corner booth, where Luke is sitting. He puts down his newspaper as she slides into the booth across from him.

“What can I do for you, Isabelle?”

“Is Jocelyn here?” Izzy asks.

“Is something wrong? Is Clary alright?”

Izzy arranges her features into a smile. “No, of course not, everything’s fine. I just wanted to talk to you guys.”

Luke looks annoyingly smug when he gets back with Jocelyn. He and Jocelyn almost definitely know why she’s here, and it’s not like they’re not okay with it, but still. Izzy hasn’t felt this nervous since she fought three Shax demons on her own in the alley behind Pandemonium.

“I just wanted to get your blessing, I guess,” she starts. “Not your _permission_ , Clary can make her own decisions—”

“Of course you have our blessing, honey,” Jocelyn says, taking Izzy’s hand in both of her own. “All we want is for Clary to be happy.”

Luke puts an arm around Jocelyn’s shoulder. “And we couldn’t be happier with her choice.”

“You’ll make a beautiful bride. Both of you,” Jocelyn adds.

Izzy thanks them, but words don’t feel like enough. She can’t wait to be part of this family, already feels more at home across the table from her soon-to-be parents in law than with Maryse and Robert.

 

* * *

 

Isabelle is squeezed in between meetings, Robert and Maryse’s own daughter penciled in on the calendar like a visiting Clave member. She shows up on time, dressed modestly, with her hair up in a practical ponytail. She won’t budge on the heels, though; she feels small enough talking to her parents.

“What is it, Isabelle?” Maryse is impatient, practically tapping her foot on the carpeted floor.

Izzy has the feeling that her parents expect what she has to say, but their anticipation is far from Luke and Jocelyn’s tentative smiles. She sets her jaw, forces herself to look her father in the eye.

“I’m going to ask Clary to marry me.”

Robert coughs into his fist, refuses to meet her stare. He’s going to let Maryse be the bad guy, so he can have plausible deniability later. So he can sleep at night. Her father is nothing if not predictable.

“She’s Valentine’s daughter,” Maryse says, finally.

“We both know that’s not the reason you don’t approve.”

Maryse sighs. “Isabelle, you can make your own decisions,” she says, “but I wish you would consider this family’s reputation.”

Isabelle blinks. “And marrying a decorated war hero hurts it how?”

She knows on some level that no argument will sway her parents, but it feels good to fight with them a little, rub salt in the wound of not having the daughter they wanted.

Her heels sink into the carpet, only clicking against the floor once she’s out of the office.

 

* * *

 

There’s no one left to tell. Everybody knows Isabelle is getting married, except the girl she’s going to spend the rest of her life with. Even the man at the jewelry store where she bought the ring knows; Izzy couldn’t help but correct him when he asked about Mr. Right.

Friday night is date night, and Izzy has a ring and a restaurant reservation and a stomach full of butterflies. She waits for Clary in front of the hostess stand, watching people get seated and the minutes tick by.

“Are you sure you don’t want to sit down, Ma’am?” the hostess asks after twenty minutes.

“I’m sorry—” Izzy starts to say, but then her phone buzzes, and it’s Clary. She steps outside to take the call.

“Hey, Clary, is everything alright?”

“I’m so sorry, Iz, it was just supposed to be a recon mission tonight, but we ran into some demons—everyone’s okay, don’t worry, but I’m not exactly dressed for dinner.”

“So, covered in demon blood,” Izzy fills in.

Clary laughs. “Right, covered in demon blood. I was thinking we could just do date night at the Institute? I’d pick up some Chinese food, but again, the blood...”

Half an hour later, Clary and Izzy and several cartons of lo mein are sprawled on the couch of their apartment. They sit under a blanket and watch a movie, and Izzy wonders if she should wait until next week’s date to pop the question.

When Isabelle thought about this moment as a kid, it wasn’t anything like this. Mostly, she was the one being proposed to, and the person doing the proposing was a man, but it also looked a lot like the restaurant Izzy had planned for tonight. It was never supposed to be Chinese food and Chicken Run, but that’s what tonight is, and she thinks that none of that matters.

What matters it that Izzy is in love with Clary, wants to spend the rest of her life with her, and that makes this night beautiful and special in its own right. Clary laughs at something one of the chickens says, loud and open, and Izzy smiles. She reaches for the little black box.


End file.
